WPI’s Leshin Named to FIRST Board of Directors

WPI President Laurie Leshin has recently been named to the Board of Directors of FIRST - an international K thru 12 not-for-profit that focuses on students interest in science and technology with an emphasis on robotics.

FIRST, or For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, was founded in 1989 by former WPI student Dean Kamen. Since 1995, WPI has been awarding participants in FIRST scholarships. The school was the first to give scholarships to these students.

Leshin, GoLocalWorcester's Central Massachusetts 2014 Woman of the Year, is WPI's 16th president. Leshin is a geochemist, space scientist, and was former dean of the School of Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. Born in Boston, Leshin grew up in Tempe, Arizona.